Week 8 Snap Count Analysis: Bucs vs. Falcons

We were all curious to see how the wide receivers would shake out with no Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. I thought Sterling Shepard was going to be WR1, but based on the percentages, he was actually used less than Jalen McMillan and Trey Palmer. McMillan played the most at 81% and Palmer wasn’t that far behind at 70% with Shepard at 62%, None of these receivers made a gigantic impact. It was actually Rakim Jarrett who flexed the most considering he was in for 27% of the game. He led all Bucs’ wide receivers with three catches for 58 receiving yards.

Jarrett would have led the whole Bucs team in receiving had it not been for tight end Cade Otton. If you didn’t know, it was National Tight Ends Day yesterday and Otton balled out. He made a career-high nine catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns as the leading force in the passing game for Tampa Bay. Surprisingly, he played less than he typically does at a 93% rate. It’s crazy to say he plays more than that number, but that just shows how important he is to the team, especially with others out for the time being.

Bucs Defense

Cornerback Tyrek Funderburk started the game on the opposite side of Zyon McCollum. But after he got burnt like toast a couple of times in coverage, head coach Todd Bowles made the switch and put in Josh Hayes, who did a much better job. Funderburk was in for 42% while Hayes was in for 52%.

Throughout the weeks we’ve all been clamoring to see inside linebacker J.J. Russell to see the field in really any capacity. Well, we saw J.J. Russell but it was at the expense of losing Lavonte David for a little bit. David is typically one of the players who play 100% of the snaps, but he faired out to 87% because of it.

Considering how it all went, Russell played just 11% but it should have been more to replace the other linebacker, K.J. Britt. At 97%, Britt was hardly off of the field and only trailed McCollum and Antoine Winfield Jr. in playing time as they were on for the whole game and 100%. Is Britt responsible for the Bucs allowing 31 points? Well, he’s a huge part of it.

I’m not sure what’s going on at outside linebacker for the Bucs at the moment. For the second week in a row, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka out-snapped second-year edge rusher Yaya Diaby 63% to 61% and it was just by one snap. It shouldn’t even have to come down to one extra play, in no world should JTS be playing more or even close to the same amount of time that Diaby is in.

There’s a good chance this is Tryon-Shoyinka’s last season in Tampa Bay. The Bucs are attempting to get Yaya Diaby on track but at this point, he’s showing that he’s better as the second edge rusher rather than the top guy. The Bucs don’t have a lot of answers on defense and apparently outside linebacker is another discussion.

All of the other rotations looked similar to what Tampa Bay typically does. Defensive lineman Earnest Brown IV played less than Will Gholston after playing more than him the week before, so that was a slight adjustment. After that, though, it was a similar grouping and another game where the defense was a big issue.